Our name | Mission | Vision | Leaders Ministries | Schedule | Directions | Contact Home   Gateway Church gathers for worship Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Location: 6425 Jefferson Rd. (Hwy. 129) in Athens, Georgia. For directions, click here. Ministry of the Word: Recent sermons Our quarterly e-magazine Gateway Today For the Gateway family Pastor Jerry's Weekly E-Mail A GATEWAY SERMON SUMMARY AUDIO We need the mountaintop Jerry Varnado, pastor Gateway Church, Athens GA March 4, 2007 Main Scripture text: Luke 9:28-36. We can't live on "the mountaintop" -- away from the world, just enjoying a personal profound experience with God. Yet, all us of need mountaintop experiences. Today I want to talk about why. Just before the story of the Mount of Transfiguration in Luke 9, Jesus tells the disciples of His impending death. He knew that Peter, James, and John -- the men called to be the key leaders in the early Church -- would need a deep and lasting mountaintop experience to see them through what was about to happen. Put yourself in the place of the disciples on that agonizing day between the crucifixion and the resurrection. They had to be ready to throw in the towel, give it up, it's over. But Peter, James, and John knew that, just a few days earlier, they had seen the glory of God -- and surely that must have given them hope in the midst of despair. The experience of God's glory on the mount of transfiguration strengthened their faith. Somehow they surely knew they could trust God's sustaining grace in the valley of the shadow of death. Martin Luther King, Jr. had a God-given dream of freedom and equality for black people in America. The pursuit of that dream landed him in jail, brought scorn from many people, and in the end resulted in his death. How did he keep going? His last speech given the day before his assassination gives us the answer: "I've Been to the Mountaintop." Listen to how he closed that speech: Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land! And so I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man! Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord! We can't live on the mountaintop. Jesus has commanded us to go down in the valley to heal, deliver, and make disciples of all nations. In the valley, His mountaintop glory will sustain us as we're confronted with pain and trouble. And the Bible says that, at last, we will come to Mt. Zion, the city of our God! On that mountaintop, we shall live with Him forever! A mp3 audio file of this sermon is here (24 min.). (Download to a PC by right clicking on the link and choosing "Save Target As." Mac users: click, hold, and choose "Download Link to Disk." Depending on your connection speed, the file may take several minutes to download.) An audio tape of the sermon summarized above is available free of charge (U.S. requests only). Request a tape by calling or writing the Gateway Church office. Please specify tape number 070304a: We Need the Mountaintop. © 2007 Gerald R. Varnado To the Gateway Church home page How to contact us